Students plan march for marriage equality

Students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design planned to do something different for Valentine’s Day. In an effort to ensure marriage equality in Rhode Island, students planned a rally on College Hill before a march to the Statehouse, where Representative Frank Ferri was scheduled to speak publicly.

Protest organizer Michelle Bailhe says many groups come together in support of marriage equality.

“I think students have had a long history of a really important presence in civil rights movements, and I think this is one that we as students, especially at Brown, really want to show that we care about, and that we’re very driven to shape the way that our kids will grow up one day and the way that our friends and family are able to live their lives. It’s about shaping the kind of America that we want to live in.”

Representative Ferri, who co-sponsored the same-sex marriage bill recently passed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, is thankful to the students for their timely participation in this issue.

“I’m very optimistic. More and more legislators and population understand the issue better, that it is about equality, it is about civil rights, and I believe we have the votes in the senate, I think we do have a majority of Senators who believe that this is the time for us to pass this.”

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the students planned to wear all red during their rally to pressure the Rhode Island Senate to legalize same-sex marriage.